Eleven A Secret That Will Never Be Told
by babsji
Summary: Mix together a childhood counting rhyme, Poe's the Raven, ghosts, an Ancient outpost, the psychology of fear, Halloween and BAM! You have All Hallow's Eve a la Pegasus style. Read at your leisure, and hopefully with the lights on.
1. Chapter 1

1**Eleven A Secret That Will Never Be Told**

Disclaimers: I own nothing in the Stargate Universe.

Spoilers: None that I can think of. Set in Season 2.

Rating: I always opt for mature, even if I don't reach it. So R/T?

Summary: It's October now and Halloween grows closer. It has got me thinking, what would All Hallow's Eve be like in the Pegasus Galaxy? "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary..". If you don't already know the quote, then you've never had to read American Lit., or watch any Vincent Price movies.

Eleven A Secret That Will Never Be Told

All Hallow's Eve, an anniversary of sorts. And here she was on her first away mission in a galaxy far far away. Maybe it didn't feel right because it was her first mission, or maybe because it was the first time that she wouldn't be there on this day. She did wonder if the dead could reach this far? She gradually lagged behind, her mind roaming away in space and time.

Colonel Sheppard, as usual, was bickering with Rodney in lead. He didn't notice how she gradually fell further and further behind. Or how unusually quiet she was either. Teyla and Ronon noticed, and even Bates noticed. He was itching to say something about her lagging, but felt he couldn't before the Colonel noticed. So he bit his tongue and glared back and forth between the back of the Colonel's head, willing him to notice, and Jesse's vacant stare. Jesse ignored him easily as she continued to watch the sky with distant eyes.

Teyla dropped back to walk where Jesse lagged. She asked quietly, "Is there something a miss Jesse? Are you uncertain about your first mission? It would not be an unusual occurrence."

Jesse smiled and tried to shrug it off. "Oh, I don't know Teyla. I think it's just one of those days when things feel off."

Puzzled, Teyla tilted her head and asked, "Feel off?"

Jesse frowned and tugged on her ear, as she struggled to find the right words. "One of those days when you wake up, and you're out of sync with everyone and everything around you. You're either ahead, or behind, or off to the side, but never with. Does that make any sense?"

Since Teyla had made the first move, Ronon felt by this time, he could also drop back to where they lagged. He snorted as he heard her explanation and said roughly, "We're on an away mission where there is always possible danger. Your mind needs to be here, and not in a dream somewhere. People's lives could depend on you."

She stopped dead and glared up at him, and tried to think of some retort that would contradict his words. Unfortunately, she knew he was right. He stared down at her with his no expression face and she backed down. "Understood."

"Okay, what's the matter?" Ronon asked dryly. Jesse was like Dr. McKay in that she was never without something smart to say.

"What? You were right. I should be focusing on the here and now, not wander forgotten corridors. I am sometimes mature enough to know when I'm wrong. So let's get to stepping…" She jerked her head around as an explosion of large black birds broke from a tree line. Her face paled as she frantically asked, "Quick, how many did ya'll see?"

Teyla and Ronon exchanged puzzled glances before giving the birds closer looks. They could see no reason for them to upset Jesse so.

"You're scared of birds?" Ronon demanded in disbelief.

"Why do you need to know the number?" Teyla asked instead.

Jesse's eyes having gone far away again, merely quoted sing-song; "One for sadness, Two for mirth; Three for marriage, Four for birth; Five for laughing, Six for crying: Seven for sickness, Eight for dying; Nine for silver, Ten for gold; Eleven a secret that will never be told."

Ronon and Teyla glanced at the sky to try and glimpse the number again. The Colonel had finally noticed that the three were standing still. Well, what he had actually noticed was that Teyla wasn't near him. Amazing how he always knew where she was in any given area.

As he and Rodney walked back to them, he was trying to decide what Jesse had done this time. Turning to look at the tree line as they were, he asked alertly "Something wrong here guys?"

Ronon had his gun out; unsure if he was going to need it to shoot something, and Teyla was looking around, straining to sense if something was 'off'. "Nothing as of yet Colonel, but Jesse read an augury though."

Colonel Sheppard frowned and said, "What the hell is that? And is right for a soldier to have?"

Teyla looked at him with her serious and intense eyes and started to repeat, "One for sorrow…"

Rodney snapped his fingers and broke in, "Yes, yes. My grandmother used to tell that to me when I was little. One for Sorrow, Two for Mirth; Three for a wedding, Four for a Birth; Five for Silver, Six for Gold; Seven for a Secret not to be told. Eight for Heaven, Nine for Hell; Ten for the Devil's own Soul."

Ronon was even more unnerved by the Doctor's repeating of Jesse's rhyme. He couldn't figure out what it said of either one, that they actually knew the same superstition. The Colonel looked amazed that one, Rodney knew what an augury was, and that two, he could rattle it off the top of his head. Teyla had on one of her slight smiles, and Jesse had schooled her features into unreadability. Bates still didn't have a clue what anyone was talking about. His frowning visage indicated that whatever an augury was, a soldier didn't need to read it.

Rodney looked around at the small group and snapped, "What I can't have a grandmother to tell me stories?" To draw attention away from him, he turned to Jesse to say antagonistically, "I wouldn't have thought of you as superstitious Jesse. You're showing surprising signs of stupidity. Or is it a trick to try and get off the away teams? If it is, it's not going to work. If I have to interrupt my busy schedule for this, then you get to be miserable also!" Glancing around the sky, he continued, "Besides, there aren't any crows in the Pegasus galaxy. Sooo, it wasn't crows was it?"

Jesse for once didn't take the bait for an argument, and merely said, "I'm from a family of sailors, and all sailors are a superstitious lot."

The Colonel rolled his eyes and asked acerbically, "What are you two going on about? Jesse, do you have an identifiable problem? Heavy emphasis on identifiable."

She shrugged uneasily and said, "Maybe it's just the day that makes it feel off sir."

"The day?" The Colonel's raised eyebrows demanded further explanation as he glanced at the others. Their looks indicated that her words held no meaning for them either.

"All Hallow's Eve sir." She mumbled unhappily.

Dr. McKay rolled his eyes and started walking off at that, while Bates snickered and said, "WHOO-whoo. Scared of ghosts Braddock?"

She threw him a dirty look as Ronon asked, "What is special about this 'All Hallow's Eve' day?"

She looked up at him unhappily and answered, "It's a day when the spirits of the dead are supposed to walk the Earth, and can interact with the Living Ro'."

"Well, this isn't Earth." Ronon replied trying to be comforting as he ignored her new name for him.

"I don't think the dead are constrained by the whole time-space continuum." She answered wryly.

Ronon looked non-pulsed and at a loss at how to counter that.

"Is it not a blessing to talk to the spirits of the departed?" Teyla asked innocently, as she looked at Jesse intently.

Jesse gave her a haunted look before saying wearily, "Sometimes we don't always separate easily with the dead."

Bates laughed evilly and said, "I can't wait to tell everyone in the barracks that you're scared of ghosts."

Jesse kicked dirt at him angrily, as Dr. McKay called back to them, "Are we even going to try and get there before the day is halfway over?"

Colonel Sheppard threw a harassed look after him before saying exasperatedly to Jesse, " Yes, well, you did bring it on yourself Braddock. Now let's get moving before the day is through. I really don't want to spent a night off planet in what may or may not be an abandoned Ancient outpost."

"Colonel Sheppard, is it not possible that spirits are around us today? And what about the, what did Jesse and Dr. McKay call them, 'crows'. Is that not significant?" Teyla asked seriously as they hurried to catch up with Dr. McKay.

The Colonel answered her soothingly, "Relax, the spirits of the dead aren't walking today. It's just a holiday where kids dress up in costumes and go around saying "Trick-Or-Treat' to get butt loads of candy. The only bad thing that happens is that you get a bunch of kids hopped up on sugar for weeks on end."

"Dress up in costumes? What do they dress up as?"

The Colonel kind of winced as he answered evasively, "Oh, just what ever they want, or can afford. Cowboys, Indians, Princesses, Monsters, Ghouls."

"Ghouls? Are not ghouls the same as ghosts?"

"Yes, well.." Colonel Sheppard adjusted the strap of his gun over his shoulder as he tried to think of someway to distract Teyla. Ronon smirked at the obvious ploy.

Jesse broke in, "Halloween, with it's trick or treating, is the sanitized version of All Hallow's Eve, just as All Saint's Day is the sanitized version of Day of the Dead."

Now it was the Colonel who was throwing dirty looks as Rodney muttered superiorly, "Superstitious plebeians."

Of course, Jesse heard that, and kicked dirt after him also, glaring at his back. When Bates snickered, she glared and stuck her tongue out at him from her heavy metal/devil worshipper expression. He refused to acknowledge it as he gave her a superior look and walked off. She glared at the back of the group impotently before yelling at the back of the group, "Fine, but if we run into a Raven that quotes 'Nevermore', you're all on your own."

Ronon looked at Sheppard and asked seriously, "Is a talking bird more ominous than these 'crows'?"

The Colonel looked at him exasperatedly and said, "I've got nothing more to say."

Rodney snorted and asked, "Is that a lame attempt at being funny?"

"As if you could come up with anything better."

"Well, if I even halfway applied myself, I could." Rodney said smugly. Before he could come up with something though, Ronon broke in rudely to say, "We're here."

Rodney looked up at him, and said, "What? No we can't be not yet. It was a good kilometer away…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the overgrown Ancient buildings sitting in the bottom of a small valley, or rather a small indention in the otherwise flat and wooded landscape.

Everyone looked silently at the buildings that seemed to be darker than their surroundings, even in the mid-day light. Colonel Sheppard broke the silence by saying, "Well people, let's get down there and see if there is at least something salvageable and get back for dinner."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**  
**

Disclaimers: The usual suspects

Spoilers: None

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"Well, this was a collosal waste of my precious time." Rodney whined. "There isn't one salvageable piece of equipment or device here, much less a fully charged ZPM."

Looking around at the destruction, Colonel Sheppard said, "From the air it looked like a good place to check out. Besides, we haven't gone completely through it. There might be some areas that aren't a total loss." Rubbing his eyes from the dust, he continued, "Any idea what could've done this damage?"

"Do I look like a mind reader for things that happened thousands of years ago?" Irritated, Rodney picked a broken piece of metal and held it to his head and closed his eyes. "Hum, let me ..inhale the vibrations." He punctuated his snarkines with a waving of his free hand around before continuing. "I see a great and terrible battle with the Wraith..." He jumped startled as Ronon kicked a piece of the structure down from where he stood on a precariously tilted alcove.

"Then how come there is no damage outside?" Ronon asked in his emotionless voice.

"What?"

"There is no damage outside. It all started inside and ended inside."

Teyla fingered a burn mark on the way and said, "This is not from a Wraith weapon."

Rodney looked puzzled as he and the Colonel looked around.

"He's right Rodney. All of the damage is inside. Which tells me one of two things. One, they knew who ever and let their killers in. Or two, they did it to themselves for some reason. Either option I don't like. Is there any possible way to get any information off of any of their computers?"

Rodney gave him an irritated look and asked, "What part of 'nothing salvageable' did you not understand? And the Ancients didn't have computers per say."

"I heard you the first time Rodney, everything is busted. But, is it not possible that information could still be stored on data crystals, or whatever they used, that we could perhaps access from our Ancient devices?" Colonel Sheppard said more sharply than he intended.

Looking slightly chastised, but only slightly, Rodney admitted, "Perhaps. I'll go and look for something that resembles a data storage room. It makes sense that it would be located more to the center than on the outer rooms." Somewhat reluctantly he stepped toward a center hallway before stopping and looking around and asking, "Who's coming with me?"

Everyone was convienently looking away, and trying to become one with their surroundings.

"Well!" Rodney's voice sounded slightly outraged.

Colonel Sheppard grinned and said, "Why Rodney, I thought that you said you didn't believe in ghosts?"

Straightening in outrage, Rodney snapped, "I'm more afraid of unstable structural integrity than of ghosts Colonel."

"Whatever. Braddock, go along with him and tell him spooky stories while you help him search."

Oh gee thanks. I'm sure that she'll be a whole lot of help." Rodney said sarcastically, giving the Colonel a dirty look.

Jesse said nothing, but she also gave the Colonel a dirty look as she passed him on the way to Rodney.

The Colonel just smirked and gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement and said "Sgt."

"Colonel, was that wise?" Teyla asked seriously as they disappeared down the center hallway.

Still smirking, he looked at her and asked "Why not? She's not in charge of the kitchen anymore. What can she do besides bitch?"

"Ah, but I think that most of her friends and colleagues are still in the kitchen." Teyla said mysteriously and wandered off.

The Colonel watched her wander off with narrowed eyes as he mulled over what she'd said. As Specialist Ronon Dex walked up kicking rubble out of his way, Colonel Sheppard coughed at the raised dust pointedly, before asking, "So what do'ya think Chewie? Think she'll sic the kitchen on me?"

Ronon hesitated as he tugged on his goatee thoughtfully before saying slowly, "I don't know. Normally, I'd say that you'd better prepare for some long days of 'specially prepared' meals, but today, she's acting strange, even for her. She's oddly distracted and distant, and she keeps looking over her shoulder and listening. Something is bothering her besides what day it is."

Teyla returned to their side and said authoritively, "I agree, for all her joking, Jesse has always been the most aware of unspoken currents in the environment."

Colonel Sheppard got one of his displeased puppy dog looks and exclaimed, "What is this? Did all the women of Atlantis wake up and decide that it's 'Let's all be Cryptic and Mercurial Day'?"

"Excuse me?" Teyla asked with just the faintest hint of displeasure.

Sheppard winced at that, knowing that he'd said the wrong thing. He looked to Ronon for some help, but Ronon was coincidentally looking away, trying not to laugh. Suddenly a little hot around the collar, he reluctantly admitted, "Well, Weir was all snappy with me before we left, saying we had to be extra careful today. Funny thing was, she couldn't say why we had to be extra careful. Just said that the day felt wrong somehow."

Suddenly Ronon stiffened and his eyes sharpened. Colonel Sheppard noticed it with relief and asked, "Did you hear something Dex?"

Ronon just grunted and pulled out his weapon as he glided down a hallway. Coming to the end of it he stood head cocked, listening intently. Hearing nothing now, he turned back towards Sheppard and Teyla, holstering his weapon.

Sheppard gave him a look that said 'What' all the way down the hall. Ronon just shrugged. Apparently, the Colonel didn't feel like yelling in here either. He started slowly walking back down the hallway, vaguely uneasy. Being a runner for seven years, he'd learned to pay attention to that little niggle in the back of his mind that said something was wrong. Halfway back he stopped suddenly and turned his head quickly as he caught a flicker in the corner of his eye. There was nothing there though, except for shadows. There was something wrong with the shadows, but he couldn't quite grasp what. Maybe it was their shape, or their size, or their darkness? Did they seem to have depth? Uneasily he looked away and lengthened his stride to reach the others. All the while, firmly telling himself that he was not running. Setitians didn't run from mere shadows.

The Colonel eyed him for a moment before teasing, "Don't tell me that you're scared of ghosts also."

Ronon said evenly, "I'm not afraid of ghosts. ..But there is something wrong with this place."

"You feel it also?" Teyla questioned, uneasily looking around, trying to comprehend what made this place feel off, as Jesse had explained.

"What would make them destroy their own outpost?" The Colonel mused out loud.

"Isn't that why you sent McKay off in search of undamaged data crystals? To find out what, why and when?" Ronon asked calmly.

"Speaking of which, we haven't heard from them, or Bates in awhile." Pressing his COM unit, Sheppard broadcasted, "McKay, Braddock, Bates, everyone sound off." He let go and listened for responses.

"Bates reporting sir."

"Where are you?"

"Outside sir. Scouting the perimeter." His voice came in loud and clear, including the tension in it.

"Are you okay? You sound a little stressed."

"I'm okay sir. I just feel like someone is watching me sir."

The three looked at each other briefly, before Sheppard answered, "Well, start back. As soon as McKay and Braddock get back, we're heading to the jumper."

"Aye sir. On my way." Bates voice sounded considerably more relieved.

Sheppard again called, "McKay, Braddock. Where the hell are ya'll?" He refused to admit that he was holding his breath waiting for a response. After a moment, the COM unit crackled to static filled noise. Then off again, then back on. This time along with the static, a vaguely feminine sounding voice whispered, "John-boy."

Startled, Colonel Sheppard looked at the com unit a moment before tapping it back on, and snapping annoyed, "Braddock is that you? Stop playing spooky voices and get back here!"

"Sir?" a voice questioned crankily from across the room. All three spun, weapons out.

"Sir, it wasn't me. It must've been Bates." She slurred as McKay helped her step gingerly out of the shadowy center hall. Blood was running down her face and an arm, as she limped further out. "A piece of ceiling fell on me and busted my rig up. No way in hell for me to say anything unfortunately. Or you'd have had an earful by now. I don't care what Dr. Weir's memos said about appropriate language."

"And mine fell off trying to dig your useless soldier out from under the stuff. I told you that the structural integrity was suspect. By the way, nice of you to come and look for me. Not like I'm important or anything." Rodney snapped aggravated as he tried to carefully help Jesse walk.

Teyla and Ronon reached them first and helped her sit on a large piece of debris. Teyla gently examined the gash on her forehead, and the arm, which hung limply at her side before saying, "This gash looks deep, and the arm is dislocated and broken I believe. Maybe we should rest here, and bring a doctor here." Teyla said doubtfully.

Jesse said vehemently as she twitched violently in Teyla's hands, "No! I'm not staying here another moment than I have too. We found what you wanted sir, now let's get the hell away from these laughing voices."

Colonel Sheppard raised his eyebrows as he said carefully, "Laughing voices?"

Rodney wouldn't look at him as he nervously said, "Yes, yes. Out of this stinking deathtrap is more than fine with me. I've got plenty of work to do back at Atlantis."

Ronon simply stated, "I can carry Jesse back to the ship easily."

"Carry me hell! I walked here, an' I'm gonna walk back!" She slurred antagonistically, and stood up suddenly and swayed. Teyla and Ronon were immediately on different sides of her to keep her from falling on her stubborn ass.

Rodney observed on from a safe distance away, "Don't brain damaged people have unusual behavioral patterns?"

Jesse tried to focus her eyes on him as she hissed angrily, "Okay chubbie-wubbie, you want top throw down I will." Teyla and Ronon tried to hide the laughter in their eyes at that. Colonel Sheppard wasn't as successful as Rodney's chin went up in anger.

"Did you just call me chubbie-wubbie? I thought only infants used words like that!"

"Still fitss, don' it?" She slurred not backing down.

"John did you hear that? Demote her, or give her demerits or something." Rodney demanded aggravated.

"We've already had this discussion. I can't demote her without a lot of paperwork. And we don't give demerits in the military. That would be the boy scouts, I believe. And before you ask, punishment is usually KP duty, but do you really want her back in the kitchen doing lord only knows what to your food? Point in fact, this was her punishment, being on an away team."

"Her punishment? I thought it was mine!"

"Colonel, please! If we are not going to bring a doctor here, we need to get back to Atlantis now." Teyla emphasized in exasperation.

John looked at Jesse's pain filled face and said, "Alright people, let's get a move on and try and get off this planet before the sun sets." Tapping his COM unit on, he barked, "Bates, we're leaving now." Turning back to Rodney he continued, "Jesse obviously has a concussion. She doesn't know what she's saying, and probably won't remember it. So drop it."

Ronon, per norm, ignored what Jesse said and picked her up. He started striding towards the entrance. Outside, Bates came hurrying up, nervously looking over his shoulder. Colonel Sheppard looked over at where Teyla was trying to adjust Jesse's arm so that it had as little movement as possible for the trip back. Jesse groaned and gasped, "Just leave it the frak alone, and let's get back fast!" Her breath coming in shallow gasps and her face appearing even more gray in the late afternoon sunlight. Laying her head on Ronon's shoulder she asked, "Does anybody know if the puddle jumper has any kind of pain killer on it?"

Teyla answered seriously, "I do not believe that we should administer a painkiller if you have a concussion. We will leave that decision up to Dr. Beckett."

Jesse just growled and bit Ronon on the shoulder and said, "GO! I want off this planet."

Grimly everyone set off at a considerably more silent and faster pace than before. Even so, they did not reach the jumper until first dark. Ronon gently stood Jesse up, and she leaned heavily into his side and looked in the direction they'd come from. She said in a thin wheezy voice, "I don't think that we should let those people come with us."

Everyone spun at that and held their weapons ready if they had them. No matter how much they strained their eyes though, they didn't see anyone. Colonel Sheppard asked Ronon quietly, "Do you see anyone Dex?"

He answered uneasily, "No. No I don't see anyone." Looking down at the top of Jesse's head he tried to sound soothing as he said, "It's nothing, just the wind."

"There is something there, and I don't think we should take it with us." She insisted.

Rodney retorted nervously, "She's delusional. Let's just get out of here."

Bates' eyes darted around with nervous energy, "I'm with the geek on that. Let's just get out of here."

"Your wish is my command." Colonel Sheppard said with half-hearted sarcasm. "Everyone on board."

With everyone busy finding seats hurriedly, Jesse was the only one to see a small wind swirl aboard and die down in the shadows. She tried to say something in dread, but couldn't force anything out of her lips as she began to breathe in shallow pants. A force seemed to be sitting on her chest, compressing her lungs as her body began to shake with tremors. The last thing she heard was Teyla saying, "Colonel Sheppard, we need Dr. Beckett now."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: So sad, I do not own them. Except for Braddock. 

Rating: M/R for mild language

Spoilers: None

'Tis The Wind, And Nothing More

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The small wind seemed to chase them and play at their heels the entire way back. No one noticed the little wind as it followed them up the ramp and swirled around them, before blending into the shadows.

Nothing actually registered with the crew as consciously being wrong; Teyla felt a gust tug her hair, maybe a little too sharply. Ronon caught flickers out of the corner of his eyes, yet saw nothing when he looked. Rodney heard far away, faint giggles that faded, the more he strained to hear. Bates refused to turn around to see who was watching him. Even John heard a whisper. He looked sideways at a distracted McKay and muttered under his breath, "Fuckin' Waltons". Jesse was the only one who might have seen something, but she was fast losing consciousness as the little gust stole her breath.

"Colonel Sheppard, we need Dr. Beckett now." Teyla said urgently

Sheppard looked back at where Teyla and Ronon were kneeling at Jesse's side. "No stops to pee, and fast lane all the way. Got it!" Turning back around, he alerted Atlantis of their situation, "Control, this is Sheppard, we're going to be coming back in a slight hurry. Could you patch me through to Dr. Beckett? We've got someone hurt."

"Message received sir. Connecting to Dr. Beckett now sir. Oh and Colonel, Dr. Weir wants you to report as soon as you land sir."

"Understood, we'll be there soon." John finished and waited for the doctor's voice.

"Colonel? You have wounded?" Carson's brogue carried over the puddle's intercom.

"Yep. Got a head injury, dislocated shoulder, and possible broken arm. Bone didn't break the skin, but there is a definite lump on it. There's also some difficulty in breathing"

"Aye lad, did you finally try and knock some sense into Rodney?"

"No, not this time. It's Jesse Braddock. Some damaged ceiling fell down on her. Rodney did have to dig her out though. He may have some scrapes that he'll want you to kiss and make better. Besides that, he isn't really talking, and she isn't making any sense."

"Ye haven't let her close her eyes have ye? Ye have to keep her talking!" Carson said alarmed.

"She can't really talk now." Sheppard said crisply.

"What? Ye have to keep her conscious."

"She can barely breathe doc. Her eyes keep rolling up, and her lips look a little blue from over here. It's kind of freaky."

"Ah!" Carson began throwing stuff together like a madman before continuing, "John, I have a dream. In this dream, ye and yer team, for once, come back uninjured, and no unknown diseases. Is there any possible way ye could help me make this dream a reality?"

"Carson! We do not purposely go off world and say, 'what kind of new and interesting injuries can we bring back for poor bored Dr. Beckett, who is confined to his office'. Because I'll have you know, while you may love your infirmary, we do not."

"Oh, so ye were just roaming around structures that were obviously unstable for yer own good eh?"

"FYI, we were searching for uncorrupted data crystals or devices, I'm not sure which one …" Sheppard spluttered distractedly as he came in for a landing.

"Probably another bloody device for Rodney. Ye at least should know he doesn't need anymore unknown Ancient contraptions." Carson retorted as he hustled toward the jumper.

Rodney finally entered the conversation at that and snapped, "I have a FYI of my own. It wasn't my idea this time. I was all set to come back, but nooo, the Colonel decided we needed information on what happened to the outpost thousands of years ago. So this time, it is definitely his fault."

John looked over at him and asked, "Do you keep a tally of whose fault it is? You do, don't you? You keep a count of whose fault it is when something goes wrong. I can't believe you do that!"

"Oh for the love of god, open the bloody doors and let me get to my patient!" Carson snapped, a few feet from the parked jumper.

Once Sheppard had let the door down, Bates couldn't wait to get off, and flew passed the harassed doctor as he was entering. Rodney and John looked back from their seats cautiously at the small group by the exit. Beckett wasted no time in unloading his equipment as he gave Sgt. Braddock a cursorary once over with his eyes. First he pulled out his penlight and flicked it on, checking her eyes.

"Having a wee bit of difficulty are ye? Care to tell me anything about it?" Carson asked cheerfully. He watched worriedly as she attempted to focus on him and work her mouth. She didn't have any breath to create sounds though. "No worries if you can't lass, we'll fix ye right up." He said soothingly.

Jesse took that as permission to lose consciousness, and her eyes rolled back one last time as she went limp and just stopped. All attempts at remaining conscious, at breathing, at understanding, at trying to warn them..stopped. They were all grown-ups. They could look after themselves.

"No! No! No lass! I didn't mean for ye to stop everything. We do need your co-operation in some of the effort." Carson said frantically as he hurriedly intubated her. "I would have preferred to use a nebulizer lass." He scolded her unconscious form as he gestured for his medical staff to come forward to help load her onto a backboard. He gestured at Teyla and Ronon to move off and said distractedly, "Off with ye, and let me do my job."

The crew stood back and watched as Beckett's entourage scurried back to the infirmary. With the closing of the hanger doors, John looked at everyone, and stated firmly, 'There were no laughing voices, nobody watching, nothing moving out of the corner of your eyes, and no one called me John-boy. It was just Braddock and her spooky stories."

Teyla opened her mouth to say something, and John held up his hand. "I think there is enough going on right now, that we don't need to dwell on what something might have been. Now, I have to go and report to Elizabeth. Then I'm going to find some of Zelenka's rotgut, or even some of Braddock's wine. It tastes better."

Rodney looked at the others and asked, "Does he remember that her wine has been known to cause hallucinations?" After he said that, one could almost see the light bulb that lit up in his mind. "Maybe that's why she was delusional. She drank some of her own wine before coming on the mission." He frowned at everyone and continued indignantly, "That bitch! She could have endangered the lives of everyone!"

Bates looked relieved at McKay's words. They were a good, solid, plausible, and more importantly, believable explanation of events. Some cold hard explanation from reality that could spell away the nameless dread that followed him around and away from the ancient outpost. He said almost happily, "Yeah, she could have. I think I'll file that in my report of events. Thanks doc." He turned on his heel quickly and jogged out of the hanger's darkening shadows, refusing to look back.

Teyla and Ronon both had disapproving looks on their faces. Teyla said adamantly, "I don't believe that Jesse is capable of that."

"Neither do I." Ronon agreed.

"What? She's lazy, sneaky, vengeful, and smart enough, in a devious sort of way, to pull it off. Of course she's capable." Rodney elaborated.

"Why would she do it?" Teyla asked sensibly.

"Why? Why she asks." Rodney started casting for a reason. "Well, uhm, well …John took out of the kitchen, where she ruled like a tyrant, and placed her on the away teams, where she is a low man on the totem pole." McKay finished in satisfaction, as his if explanation fit.

Teyla and Ronon had their eyebrows raised. "What is a tyrant?" Teyla asked.

"And what is a 'low man on totem'?" asked Ronon.

"They're very irritating and annoying little people with dreams of grandeur and power!" Rodney snapped back.

Ronon abruptly went back to the subject, "When and how did she do it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Jesse is small, she can be vengeful, she is sneaky and devious, and she didn't want to leave her kitchen to become a member of the away teams. I agree with all of those things, but once the course was set, she wouldn't have done anything to jeopardize the mission, or anyone on it."

"Oh, you know her that well?"

"Yes, I believe I do, and I believe that you do also." Ronon paused a moment before continuing, "And if you don't, then think on these questions. When and how?"

"What?" Rodney asked befuddled.

"When and how did she have the time, and opportunity, to perform such an elaborate hoax, at a place she'd never been, and was never out of anyone's presence Dr. McKay?" Teyla queried softly.

Rodney spluttered for a few seconds before snapping, "Yes, well thank you very much for destroying my much needed theory that banished my inexplicable fear away. Now that you have upset my ulcers, I have some data I'm going to attempt to retrieve." With that, McKay also turned on his heel, and with something between a skip and a fast pace, left for well-lit areas of Atlantis.

Teyla looked troubled, "I do not like this."

Ronon looked up at the creeping shadows and said abruptly, "I'm going to the infirmary to see how Jesse is. Are you coming also?"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

'Tis The Wind, And Nothing More; part 2 

Carson left Jesse's side, and pulled the curtain behind him. He bustled over to the waiting group, and gave them a calm smile. He looked at the lone member in a dirty apron and asked, "Flip lad, are we having mystery meatloaf today? Or did you suddenly remember ye're a week late for yer physical?"

As Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard entered behind them, Weir teased, "Well Jesse must be okay if the good doctor is attempting to make jokes."

Flip got a relieved smile on his face and said softly, "It's spaghetti western Saturday sir. Speaking of which, I need to get back to the kitchen. I just heard that Jesse was hurt and wanted to check on her."

Colonel Sheppard looked at him, and said, "You know, it's kind of strange how the kitchen staff always seems to know about things before the top of the chain of command does. Got any comments, or thoughts on the matter son? The flow of information to the kitchen seems to be a 'faster than the speed of thought' form of communication. The military and diplomatic applications of such technology could be phenomenal."

Flip had the 'deer caught in the headlights' look on at that. Teyla gave him a quiet look of sympathy, and even Weir took pity and said warningly, "John, he's just checking on his friend."

Sheppard relented, and said, "Sorry Sgt. I was just teasing. ..But you did find out awful fast." Turning to Carson, he said briskly, "Since, you're here, and not there, I'm assuming that it's nothing life threatening. So what's the damage."

"Aye, yer right, nothing life threatening. The two biggest problems were her breathing and her concussion. The constricted airways allowed for decreases in her oxygen levels, which increased the symptoms of her concussion. Such as her inability to focus, and remain coherent. The abnormalities in her behavior that Rodney chronicled in detail. And also with the auditory and aural hallucinations she seemed to have."

"So it was hallucinations?" The Colonel said in relief.

"Aye lad, I'm sure they were hallucinations. ..Unless there is something else that ye'd like to add."

"No. Nothing at all." He added hastily.

"Well, then." Carson continued giving John a sharp look. "She's breathing fine now, but resting. I've stitched the gash on her forehead, reset the shoulder, and her arm was also broken, so it's in a cast now. There were a few chemical abnormalities that I wanted to check out, so I'm keeping her overnight for observation. Other than that, scrapes and bruises all around."

"What kind of chemical abnormalities?" John asked sharply.

There are elevated levels of adrenaline, glutamate and acetylcholine. They're all produced by the body naturally, and seem to be connected with fears, but they don't seem to be leveling out after the stress factor is removed. They seem to actually be increasing incrementally. The amygdala also seems to have a lot of activity."

The Colonel looked at him uncomprehending and said, "Hum, ookaay. I didn't understand a word of what you just said."

"There are no illegal substances in her system, if that's what yer 'not' asking Colonel." Carson bristled as he spoke, finally getting what the Colonel was hinting at.

Sheppard looked unhappy as he said, "Understood, and I'm sorry if my implication upset you."

"I'm not the one to apologize to. Ye know Jesse well enough to know she'd never do that to ye, or ye would've never put her on yer team." Carson said stiffly.

The Colonel had a look of shame on his face as he bowed his head briefly to the groups disapproving faces before quickly leaving.

Carson looked at the group of Flip, Teyla, Ronon and Weir, and said in somewhat forced cheeriness, "She isn't awake now, but everyone can check back after dinner if they'd like. Now begone, this is an infirmary, not a town hall."

As everyone stood and made to move off, Carson called out warningly, "And Flip lad, the next time you return to my infirmary, it had better be for yer regularly scheduled physical."

Flip gave a guilty barely audible mumble, and bolted quickly out the door as if he was afraid that Dr. Beckett might suddenly hustle him into an examing room.

Ronon glanced at Teyla as they left, and asked, "What time is 'after dinner'?"

Weir watched the group leave with an amused smile, which faded as she turned back to Dr. Beckett. "Tell me Carson, did she say or do anything before you put her out like a light? John was extremely evasive about what should have been a very routine trip to break Jesse into away team protocols."

Carson said wryly as he guided Elizabeth to his office for some tea, "Aye lass, but ye forget that there is nothing 'routine' or 'normal' in this galaxy, or in life either. What happened was normal, everyday life. It could've happened on Earth also."

Weir looked him in the eye and admitted, "But I told John, no, I ordered John to get Jesse out of the kitchen. It's my fault she was on an away team in the first place."

"Elizabeth, think. Why exactly did ye want her out of the kitchen? Let me refresh yer memory, she was finding entirely too much mischief to get into. I believe the hallucinogenic wine she and Flip created was the last straw."

Elizabeth gave a strangled snort of laughter at that. "You know, I know hallucinogens are wrong, especially in this galaxy, but I have to admit, I laughed my ass off when she told me that Rodney turned into a giant pink bunny that kept saying, 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!'. Sad thing was, I could see it all so clearly."

Caron was grinning as he said, "Elizabeth, ye were right to have her taken out of the kitchen. She is far too smart to have continued there. She is a very capable, nay, good soldier to have continued there. She is merely young, and will eventually grow into responsibility, but only if it is thrust upon her."

"Are you sure about that? Neither Rodney nor John seem to be too sure of what responsibility is, and they're how old?" Elizabeth asked smiling.

Carson had a mock scandalized look on his face as he said, "Elizabeth Weir! I canna' believe that ye think Rodney and John are irresponsible!"

"As if you don't think it every time they come into your infirmary." Elizabeth countered amused.

"Aye, well, they do have a tendency to be a little hot-headed, and have one-track minds at times, but they do put the greater good of the whole before themselves. I have a feeling that for all her unruliness and criminal mischief tendencies, Jesse would do the same. Now off with ye. I'm sure that ye have responsibilities of yer own to tend. I know I do."

"Why Dr Beckett, are you kicking me out of your office?" Elizabeth teased.

"That I am lass. I must be a fool to ask such a beautiful woman to leave my company, but I do have rounds to make." Carson said in pink-faced gallantry.

Weir gave a clear carefree laugh as she stood to leave. "I understand that you accept your responsibility with an appealing grace Dr. Beckett. You have a very warm and comforting bedside manner that makes you indispensable to this expedition. Can you imagine how lost we would be if McKay was in charge of the medical?"

Carson joined her laughter as he escorted her out. "Are ye trying on purpose to give me nightmares?"

Elizabeth gave him a warm smile as she exited the infirmary. Carson turned back to his office thinking, 'Now how do I accidentally tell Rodney that certain expedition members can easily see him as a giant pink bunny quoting Lewis Carroll?'

Elsewhere, or is it else when?

Ronon glanced at Teyla as they left and asked, "What time is 'after dinner'?"

Teyla smiled as she answered, "I think it is whenever the good doctor thinks she is able to receive visitors."

Ronon gave her a disgruntled look, "I was afraid of that." Looking off, he continued, "Which means that I'll have to make a plan to sneak back in. Do you know when he leaves to go to his quarters?"

"He leaves when the last patient doesn't need his care."

"That does not help Teyla. I must plan. Would you join me for dinner and help?" Ronon asked in his usual direct way.

Teyla hid a smile as she answered, "No Ronon. I will take my leave. I must meditate, and you must .. be yourself. A word of warning though, Dr. Beckett is very protective of his patients. He will not take kindly if you disturb one of them."

Ronon's expression did not change, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone as he grunted, "I have always enjoyed a challenge. Good night Teyla."

TBC

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thanks to thedummie2, for their suggestion to reword the summary.lol. thanks for the kind words, and also the ones from chance2 and natalie. Thanks also to linda, aka the sheppardster.


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